The James Low Western Front

Whiskey FarmerUnion Made Records ***

Clocking in at just over 27 minutes, this slice of low-key alt.country leaves a satisfying taste, albeit one tinged with whiskey-soaked regret. The eight songs concern the same character, an Oregon singer- songwriter whose heart clearly lies further south in clammy, small-town dramas of love and loss. The title track sets the tone: "The sun won't shine, the rain won't fall/I'm a whiskey farmer trying to grow champagne". But it's the elegiac The Stars Don't Care and the wishful Thinking California that nail the loss of faith at the core of Low's character. They, along with Medicine Show, are also the best songs, steeped in the verging-on-shambolic sound of the honky-tonk tradition that celebrates misery in style. Sleeping It Off, on the other hand, is just shambolic, while the closing A Little More Time never gets out of the traps. jameslowwesternfront.com

Download tracks:The Stars Don't Care, Thinking California